Clashbar story

The clashbar is Clink Hostel's fine drinking venue which opened in autumn 2008. The site was the former base of the old Clerkenwell Magistrates Court where Charles Dickens worked while he wrote and immortalised the adventures of Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger in the villainous subculture of Victorian London. However, more recent and unexpected residents include international and London rock legends The Clash, who were held in the cells amid accusations of firing guns at passing pigeons.

In 1997 the Magistrates Court finally slammed shut its doors for ten years until Clink Hostel took over this impressive building, lovingly dusted off its docks and opened up the cells again to create a party hostel and bar.

We felt it was an ideal venue to create an underground bar! It’s unusual to have a bar of this stature in a hostel but we decided that we wanted to have a communal heart for our backpackers with great drink, entertainment and the best music London could offer – you can bare witness to that most nights of the week! Hence the clashbar was born.

The Clash at the Clink: Why they are so important

Original punk rock band The Clash took over where the Sex Pistols left off to become one of the most influential bands in the history of music. They were reluctant visitors at The Clink when they were arrested in 1978 – for shooting at pigeons – just two years after forming as part of the original wave of British punk rock.

Thankfully, for them, they escaped a life sentence to become a positive influence on the future of music, fashion, politics and fun.

Along with punk rock, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass) and Nicky “Topper” Headon (drums). Headon left the group in 1982, and internal friction led to Jones’s departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986.

The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their self-titled debut album in 1977. Their third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979, brought them popularity in the United States . A decade later and Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s and they were later ranked at NO.30 in the top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

They became widely referred to as "The Only Band That Matters." In January 2003 the band—including original drummer Terry Chimes —were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
But what about their relationship with The Clink? Could you be sleeping in the same room that Jones and Strummer shared some 30 years ago? They’d have certainly be in the bar instead of up against it, if there’d be been one!

Let’s rewind to 30 March 1978, when artful dodgers The Clash, were busy working on their album appropriately entitled ‘Give ‘Em Enough Rope’. Feeling the need to escape the studio for a breather, bassist Simonon and drummer Headon hopped up on to the roof to play with Headon’s air rifle and began to take pot shots at passing pigeons. Little did the somewhat confused pair know but the birds they were firing at were highly-prized racing pigeons out for a flight.

Next thing they know, the birds’ distraught owner had reported the incident to the police who shot down to the studio in four cars and a helicopter! As the three dead pigeons were private property, this elevated the charges against the pair to criminal damage so, they were escorted to Brixton Prison to await bail. The duo were finally summonsed to Clerkenwell Magistrates Court where they pleaded guilty for their avicidal deed and were fined £30 each and ordered to recompense the horrified pigeon fancier with seven hundred of the Queen’s English pound notes.

The scene in court of the shaky band and all their bedraggled hanger-on mates was immortalised in the 1980 Clash docu-drama ‘Rude Boy’ and it was the inspiration for their classic track ‘Guns On The Roof’.

It is yet another curious tale in the long history of this remarkable building.

From Dickens to The Clash – it is time to write your own chapter in the history of this building with an unforgettable night at the clink bar.